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As a recent sportsbike convert I had never ventured onto track, so the knowledge that everyone else at the MSVTrackdays novice only day would be in the same boat was reassuring.

And a boat would have been a more appropriate vessel for the morning sessions as a downpour the rider briefing meant the track was soaking wet by the time we headed down pitlane for the first time.

The sighting lap was to be led by an instructor with strict instructions not to overtake. It was red flagged when a rider managed to crash and that pretty much set the tone for the first three twenty-minute sessions.

The final crash of the morning left fluid on the track and so an early lunch was called. So far, I’d learned a little about riding in the wet and exaggerating my body position, but not a lot about the bike.

By the time the afternoon sessions started, the track was essentially dry, with just a few damp patches off the racing line here and there. The Honda really came into its own, in these new grippy conditions, and with far more heat in my Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa II tyres than I’d had so far, I went about trying to piece some laps together.

I wasn’t surprised to be out-dragged on Snetterton’s long straights by more focussed machinery (Triumph 675, Honda CBR600RR, Yamaha R6) but I was surprised by how little. And the Honda seemed to be able to get turned faster than a lot of the other bikes, meaning I was able to get the throttle open earlier and blast past at corner exit.

The CBR650R is intended to be a softer offering than the RR was, but it’s plenty stiff enough and powerful enough to take on track. A dedicated trackday goer would doubtless want something more aggressive but as a road bike to use on the occasional trackday the CBR is just about perfect.

Can you tour on a Honda CBR650R?

The first couple of thousand miles on the Honda had zipped by quite quickly, with most of them being racked up on my commute and a day here and there exploring A and B-roads around Lincolnshire.

As much fun as this was, it never took the bike anywhere near the edge of its comfort zone. A middleweight sportsbike should perform well on twisty back roads, but is it a viable option for touring?

With a slightly less focused approach than the now discontinued Honda CBR600RR, it should be possible to complete long days in the saddle on the 650 and 94bhp should be enough power to cope with the extra weight of the luggage, too.

The route I chose would take me from Calais, down the western coast of France, then along the northern coast of Spain, finishing up in Porto, Portugal. While in Portugal I explored some back roads for a couple of days before setting off home.

I loaded the bike up with a Kriega US-Combo 50, which carried all my camping gear and clothes and an Oxford M30R tank bag for my valuables, tools and maps. Looking fairly well-laden, I set off for Folkestone in the cold and fog, regretting my choice to ride in leathers almost immediately.

By the time I got to France, the weather had brightened up and I rode off the train ready to explore some twisty, rural roads. The CBR was less than its usual, spritely self with the addition of luggage, but I couldn’t believe how agile it remained. The first day’s ride was fairly short and I ended up stopping just south of Rouen.

Day two saw the first bout of what would turn out to be quite persistent rain. This was the first time I felt that the OE Dunlop tyres were coming up a little short. In the sunshine, they coped absolutely fine with the extra weight on racetrack-smooth French tarmac, but once the road got wet it felt like riding on a diesel spill, on an ice rink.

The bad weather broke after lunch and I made it just past Bordeaux. The French countryside is a beautiful place to ride, with smooth, twisty roads broken up by villages that look designed by romance novelists.

Day three started out with packing away a wet tent and setting off in thick fog, so I decided to cut inland and find a twisty route through the Pyrenees. I wasn’t disappointed. You know you have ridden a truly epic road when you find yourself craving a straight and that was beginning to be the case by the time I reached Pamplona.

When I stopped for the night, a storm had moved into northern Spain and this meant setting up camp in the pouring rain. I discovered that since I packed the tent away wet, too, the inside was completely soaked.

I must have look pretty disconsolate, because the first beer I ordered that night was on the house. I slept in my leathers for warmth (which was surprisingly comfortable) before setting off very soggy and cold the following day.

The weather was enough to convince me that I should get on and blast to Porto a day early, so I picked out a straight-ish route through Spain and got on with it. This was, by far, the worst part of the trip; incredibly long, straight roads broken up by abandoned towns.

I saw about 10 or 15 other vehicles on the way through, all of them traffic police, and I couldn’t help but wonder who on earth they were expecting to catch. It was almost like riding through the original Mad Max film, except for the rain, of course.

The day was saved as the sun came out around the Portuguese border, and I made my way along the most beautiful motorway I’ve ever seen. Enormous viaducts span valleys filled with fir trees and the road snakes its way all the way across the country to Porto.

This is where I tested the range of the CBR further than ever before. Due to a lack of fuel stations (I guess because the road was up in the air for so long) and then missing the exit when I eventually found one I pushed the tank to just over 205 miles, by which time the dash was producing a seizure-inducing array of flashes, including the word 'RES' twice, flashing at different speeds, which seemed a bit over the top.

The roads in Portugal are incredible, mile after mile of twists and turns on silky-smooth, often recently resurfaced tarmac with cambered switchbacks thrown in here and there. The only thing that can possibly distract you from the roads is the breath-taking scenery.

The route home took me along the northern coast of Spain (the route I originally planned for the way out). A particular highlight was the coastal road between Bilbao and the French border, which winds its way along the sea front with fast, sweeping bends and glorious coastal views.

My final day’s ride took 12.5 hours including the crossing and by the end I was really ready to get off the bike. Astonishingly, though, I felt fresh enough to get up the following day and give my own Suzuki SV650 a run to the coast, which is a real testament to just how comfortable the CBR is.

With just shy of 3500 miles covered in 13 days, I feel confident to say that the CBR is a great tourer. It’s comfortable for more than eight hours a day, agile and fun on twisty roads, even fully-loaded and has a practical tank range, too.

I can’t wait to see what the CBR is like to ride on a track, because if it’s anywhere near as good as it is on the road then the plucky 650 will be a true all-rounder.

Why is the Honda CBR650R right for me?

I’ve always been a fan of bikes with fewer than three cylinders. I learned to ride on a knackered Yamaha XT250, toured North and Central America on an XT660R and my daily commuter for the last year has been a Suzuki SV650. My ‘two-cylinders-max’ approach has served me well but I started to worry that I was missing out.

The CBR seemed the ideal candidate for my first inline-four. The riding position is almost identical to my SV and its 94bhp seemed a manageable step up in power, too. It should be more than capable of doing everything I need, from my daily commute, to longer rides and even a way to get on track for the first time.

First impressions

The Honda made it to its first 600-mile service after two days riding the MCN250 test route, which takes in just about every terrain from bumpy B-roads to fast A-roads, motorway and town centres.

Compared to what I’m used to, the CBR’s unnervingly quiet and smooth. The clutch is feather-light, the engine whispers through its exhaust and almost no vibration can be felt anywhere.

Honda have angled the exhaust to let more noise reach the rider, presumably so they know the bike is still running! It sounds ok at high revs and there’s a lovely induction growl but it lacks the character of my beloved twins and singles.

Stirring the gears

I’ve also been completely underwhelmed by the CBR’s acceleration and actually had to back out of a couple of overtakes. I couldn’t understand why it felt so much slower than my 18-year-old, high-mileage SV before I realised it was my gear selection.

If you’re following a lorry and an opportunity to nip around it comes up, you need to drop at least two gears, get the engine revving and tap into the power. Once you keep the engine singing it becomes a dream machine, easily gobbling up slow-moving cars.

The only problem is it doesn’t get to sing for very long. The gear shift indicator (a nice touch) illuminates in second gear at 81mph, so by the time you’ve let it off the leash you’ve got to reign it back in again for fear of licence bingo. To really explore the CBR’s performance I need to get it on track. Watch this space.

Introduction

I think the Honda CBR650R is pretty much the perfect new bike for me right now. Its 94bhp is a nice step up from my usual daily ride (my 2001 SV650S) without being too much of a shock to the system, and it should be similarly well-suited to commuting and weekend blasts.

I ride around 300 commuter miles per week, but also have some longer trips planned this year – including dropping down into Portugal, which should answer questions over its abilities as a sporty tourer.

I also think the CBR650R will be the ideal bike to pop my trackday cherry on. It certainly looks the part, and tests of the old one revealed that it wasn’t much slower than the CBR600RR in talented hands.